All Forum Posts by: Muhamed Abd.

I would work to hire a PM company and let the professionals handle it. My advice on rent increases is always raise rent EVERY YEAR, even if its a token $5. Inflation is never zero and tenants need to be trained to expect some increase. Good luck, happy investing! 

You cannot keep track of 20 renters and come up with a way to accurately figure out out who is paying and who is not ?

This job might not be for you, maybe think about hiring a professional property manager.

This is a relatively simple task, and the actual management of 20 units will require more specialized knowledge to avoid problems down the line.

Maybe you can fit in the family business in another position where your strengths can shine brightly (???)

Just my 2 cents.

@Muhamed Abd. recommend Buildium also as you'll never find an accountant to keep track of all of it without paying them a LOT.

You can also look into, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Apartments.com, Hemlane, Rentec.

Good luck, you'll need it.

Avail! "Avail" is the other software

The above advice is also great though. You need to understand that there is a lot involved in property management, and it's almost certainly going to change some part of your family dynamic. If you're ready for the work (and ready to learn) and you feel like you and your family can set appropriate boundaries and expectations then we're behind you 100% and happy to offer advice. Just make sure you know you're signing up for a lot more than simply staying organized.

Using something like Stessa to track the books and keep an eye on a PM is an equally good strategy and way to learn. The fact that you're here and asking questions likely indicates your willingness to learn and recognize the scale of what you're taking on...so that sounds pretty promising to me.

Being a PM and handling a software management is completely two different things.

10% is not outrageous because PM companies are obligated to check on your properties if anything happens to both Interior and Exterior. They are responsible for evictions, going to court, and other duties that they are liable for. They will keep track of accounting income & expenses.

It isn't just collect rent and collect fees. 

$800 vs $200 is a massive difference. You can certainly take the time to find the right vendor who will do it correctly once. You can be on top of the vendor to check the status, you can go inspect the work after it is done. 

Do you know that PM companies have employees?

Sure you can go hire your own employees, pay worker's comp,  pay payroll taxes, file your quarterly taxes, pay benefits, take the time to hire employee(s), train them to use your platform, and manage their time. 

Let us know how much money you think that will take when you start hiring employees and you will need supervisors/managers to oversee them. 

I feel like a lot of people on BP thinks every tasks in real estate is easy peasy and they can do everything themselves. These type of businesses exist for a reason.

A good property manager does far more than just collect rent each month. They choose the best tenants because good tenants mean less work and more income. They keep your rents at the top of the market because more rent means more income for them. They understand the law and keep you from fair housing violations or lawsuits. They have policies and procedures in place that allow them to stop problems quickly before they cost you a lot of money.

yes, you could hire your own employee, but what does that solve? You still have someone managing the property with no experience, no legal training, no knowledge market, or any of the other benefits that a professional property manager brings.

if someone charges you $10,000 a year but earns you $20,000 a year, wouldn't that be worth it? I think you are only looking at the cost without considering the benefits

I'd highly advise against using something like excel as its prone to manual error plus most of these softwares make it easy come tax time.

I've had good experiences with Buildium. I think BP use to have partnerships with them to so maybe you can get a promo discount. 

Your family thinks they are saving money by hiring you instead of a professional, but it's going to cost them money in the end. I work with Landlords all the time that managed their own property until they finally burned out. They gave their properties to me, I turned them around, and now the Landlords are making more money than they ever did before, even after paying my fees.

Why kill yourself? Hire a professional that knows what they are doing. They have leases that comply with the law and are enforceable in court. They have policies and procedures in place to keep tenants on track and prevent problems from growing out of hand. They understand the market and can get your units rented for market rates. A good property manager will increase the income, reduce the losses, all while protecting your time and sanity.

Buildium is very scalable. We started with 20 or so units and had the same priorities. We have since grown from there and handle pretty much everything directly from buildium (I often check it before I check my email inbox in the morning). Certainly not cheap, but our favourite option so far. 

Stessa is also great, especially if you're mostly focused on accounting and tracking rents.

There is another software that is free I believe, fairly new...I hope someone will jump in with that. I know they've been mentioning it on the BP podcasts.